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Unsung hero

Date published: Sunday 18th December 2011 5:23

Chris rarely fluffs his Lines

With Christmas fast approaching, the Owls find themselves in a strong position going into the festive period. Promotion is a distinct possibility and it seems everyone at the club is pulling in the right direction. Almost 4000 owls made the trip across the pennies for our recent visit to Oldham, and Walsall are moving season ticket holders in order to accommodate more away fans when we go there on Boxing Day.

Our current cult hero is the Portuguese sensation Jose Semedo. It’s not very often that a defensive midfielder is the name on every fan’s lips, but with his magical song and no-nonsense performances, he is definitely a favourite.

I do think it is important to talk about his central midfield partner, whose current role in the team is having a similar effect to Semedo, but is largely going under the radar. Chris Lines signed for around £50,000 back in August from Bristol Rovers. At the time he was touted as a winger and I think only a few of our fans had heard of him. He made the odd start in the early games but struggled to make an impact, often looking off the pace and like he was, as many players do, struggling to come to terms with life at a new club and away from his home town.

Things changed for Lines following the untimely injury of David Prutton, who was at the time forging a midfield partnership with Semedo. This resulted in Lines taking a more central role. No offence to Prutton, he scored a great goal at Boundary Park recently, but this coincided with in upturn in our form, particularly away from home, where we had struggled to pick up points.

integral

In our recent performances Semedo and Lines have begun to flourish. Lots of the credit for our creativity has gone to loan star Ben Marshall, and quite rightly so, however Lines has also played a major part in this. He has a great passing range and his delivery from set pieces is good. For me he is currently an integral part in our push for promotion, and just as important as Marshall and Semedo. He is quickly establishing himself as one of the first names on the team sheet.

Longer tem, the promotion battle is shaping up nicely. There are plenty of teams in the mix, and as with Huddersfield’s recent dip in form, if you don’t get the results there are teams waiting in the wings to overtake you. I think it’s going to be an exciting second half of the season in League one, and unlike last year I think Sheffield Wednesday will be a key figure in the fight to get to the Championship. 2012 could be a great year.